tHE gIRL wITH tHE iRON fISTS

cHAPTER 2

cHAPTER 2

Piper McLean

We made it to camp just in time. It was pretty bright, so we decided we would walk down the hill instead of going around.

"Just a warning," Hazel spoke. "We have a dragon guarding the camp."

"I'm sorry, what-" We got to the top and she jumped. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Hazel, you should have told her before." I looked over at B, who gave a tiny smile before it disappeared. She opened a bag I that I never knew she had and pulled out an apple. "That's Peleus, by the way. He's an automaton."

"Oh." She took a tiny step forward, holding out the apple. Peleus sniffed and ate it in one bite.

"Of course, he eats apples." Annabeth smiled.

"Annabeth! Thanks for meeting us here." Hazel spoke.

"No prob." While they had a conversation, I was starting at B. They made some sort of connection, her and that dragon. Well, not legitimately. Peleus was designed not to get too attached to someone, or something. She was doing a small smile like she knew a secret with the dragon. Then it disappeared. Once again. "Let's go." She signed and inched toward the hill. She looked out again and slowly made her way downhill. Annabeth jogged down to talk to her. Hazel and I walked slowly.

"Are you alright?" I asked her. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her gold eyes in deep thought.

"She's a powerful demigod." I nodded. "Chiron said so himself."

"He said she was different."

"He said something else too. While talking to Dionysus." Hazel's eyes were in deeper thought. "Why wasn't there any monster attacks?"

"Not all demigods come in with a monster at their tail." I reminded her.

"All the powerful ones do. Especially around the winter solstice." Hazel pulled a small ruby from the ground and played with it as if it were a globe of water.

"We still have a month until that." I looked at Hazel worriedly. "Are you feeling ok?" I put a hand to her forehead. "Your forehead's heating up. Come on." I held her hand. "You need to lie down.

"But this is important." Hazel protested. "She's going to be part of something big. Huge! Ask Rachel! She's going to be even bigger than Percy Jackson." I put my hand on her forehead again. She was heating up by the minute.

"Hazel, we have to get you to bed." I put some charmspeak in my voice. "You aren't feeling well."

"Piper..."

"No. As soon as we get you down, you're going to bed."

"...Yes, ma'am."

***

Annabeth Chase- Daughter of Athena

"Hey." I greeted B. She only nodded. She was making her way down the hill slowly.

"Sorry. I have this fear of falling and breaking my head." She signed.

"No worries. Usually, people run down the hill." I snorted, trying to lighten the mood. "They think the monster is after them, but really, he's just standing at the border."

"Speaking of monsters, can recap what you said to me? I need something to focus on besides not falling face first into the grass."

"Of course. Basically, there are 12 main olympian gods. Zeus, Hera, Apollo, and Artemis to name a few. Sometimes, they'll have kids, which are called demigods. You're a demigod." I looked at B. She was going a bit faster now. " Of course, some are forbidden to marry, like Hera. Now, being a demigod means that monsters will try to bite your head off. So, you have to train. Camp Half-Blood is one of the only safe spots in the world."

"Didn't you say something about New Rome?"

"Yeah. That's the Roman counterpart of us." We were at the base of the hill. I looked behind us. Piper was feeling Hazel's forehead. She had a worried look on her face. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, B started sprinting. "B! What are you doing?"

"You didn't see him?"

"See who?"

"The ghost. He looked like-" Her eyes widened and she went running again.

"B! Wait up!" I looked over at Piper, who nodded.

"I'll be fine!" I went sprinting after her.

***

Nico di Angelo- Son of Hades

"Nico!" I heard someone screech. I looked to see Annabeth running to me. I tried to shadow travel away, but Annabeth said something else that made me stay. "B's seeing ghosts!"

"Who?" Annabeth slowed when she came closer.

"A new camper. She signed that she saw her dad- I think- but I didn't see a thing!" She panted a bit. "Styx, I've grown soft."

"There's an aura around here." I nodded. "Where did she go?" Annabeth pointed over to the cabins. I grabbed her hand. "If you're that winded, we need to shadow travel over there." She nodded. We slowly disappeared and reappeared again, right next to the Hermes cabin.

"She's over there!" Annabeth yelled. We ran over. She was up against a wall, panting. "B?" She touched her shoulder. "B." B slowly slid down.

"Yeah?" Annabeth let out a gasp as I gripped my sword.

Cuts and bruises covered her whole face. A mark in the shape of her fist burned bright red on her cheek.

"Oh gods, B." Annabeth covered her mouth. "What-"

"A monster," I said. Annabeth looked at me.

"But it's safe in here Monsters can't get in."

"I know."